Snow
by R. Reynolds
Summary: On a cold, winter day, Artemis has thoughts on life and the importance of his own existence.
1. Chapter 1

Artemis paused. He saw the thin tendril of foggy breath puff out in front of him and wind its way upwards through the trees of the forest. _Why am I here?_ he thought. _What was I thinking?_ _She could never love me back._ He still remembered the look on Holly's face when he had told her. The look was one of horror, shock, surprise, fear... But it lacked the one emotion he was hoping it would show. His love was not reciprocated.

"I'm so sorry, Arty. It won't work out. We're not even the same species," she had said.

"But it will work out. Don't you see? Don't think so hard about it. Just-"

"Artemis!" He noticed that she hadn't used his pet name this time. He doubted she ever would again. "You're always the one who's thinking! And now, the one time you decide to stop thinking, I have to think for both of us. Right now, I'm thinking you had better stop if you want to salvage any relationship that we have left."

"But Holly...". He reached out his hand to put it on her arm.

"Don't touch me!" she said, jumping away from him. Her tone softened. "Don't encourage yourself for something that can never be." She turned and left him standing there. "I have to go back to Haven."

He had stood there, in stunned silence. He wasn't sure how she would react, but this was definitely not what he had been expecting. He had stayed there, stupefied, for several minutes. Then he went down the stairs, grabbed his coat, and started to leave.

"Where are you going, Artemis?" asked Butler.

"Out."

Butler frowned, but he knew better than to question his master when he was in this kind of a mood.

Artemis had started walking. He wasn't sure where he was going, only that he would know when he reached it. "It" turned out to be a small pond. Artemis looked around. He did not recognize any of his surroundings. He must have been walking for a very long time.

He sat down on a smooth, flat stone by the edge of the pond and stared at its placid surface. It was getting awfully cold now. He shivered and pulled his coat tighter around him. He looked up at the sky and felt something hit him directly between the eyes. It was a large, wet snowflake. He laughed. It was a bitter laugh, a laugh that let out all his pain, all his misery, all his pent-up anger. He looked down at the smooth surface of the lake again. A thin layer of ice was beginning to form over it.

The snow was falling harder.

Artemis stared into the water. It was interesting how his mismatched eyes flickered in his reflection. He shook his mop of raven black hair so that it was out of his eyes. There it was. A little spark in each eye. If only he looked like that in real life. If only he had a flame burning in each eye, entrancing whoever looked at him. His thin, pale lips curled up in a rueful smile. But he _could_ be like that. Didn't he see?

He slid down from the rock, onto the bank of the pond now. He _could_ be like that Artemis in the water. He laughed again, but this laugh was different. It was so simple, really.

Ice crystals began to form over the skin of ice on the lake above Artemis' serene countenance, and the snow continued to fall.

**A/N- I hope that wasn't too depressing. Please review. This is my first story on the site. Constructive criticism is appreciated.**


	2. Chapter 2

"I'm so sorry, Holly. I really wish I hadn't been the one to tell you," said Trouble Kelp.

"It's alright. I just need some time to think," replied Holly.

"If there's anything I can do..."

"No, Trouble. I'll be okay. Just please go."

Trouble turned and left, closing the door behind him and leaving Holly alone.

_Artemis is dead_, she thought. _He's dead_.

That word kept ringing in her head.

_Dead._

_Dead._

_Dead._

She remembered the last conversation she had had with him.

"I love you, Holly. I always have and I always will," Artemis had said.

"I'm so sorry, Arty. It won't work out. We're not even the same species." Holly's heart wrenched at the memory of her use of Artemis' pet name. Arty. _Her_ Arty.

"My Arty..." she whispered. "My dear, dear Arty."

_D'arvit. What have I done? What have I done..._

Holly stood and left her desk. Unconsciously, her legs were taking her away from the LEP office, away from Haven. She barely realized that she was on her way to the Surface, and when she did, it came only as a dull shock. She didn't notice the snow crunching beneath her feet, taking the same trek Artemis must have taken. She couldn't feel herself sitting down on a rock by the edge of the same lake where he had been found.

A reflection on the thin ice over the surface of the lake caught her eye. She saw herself, her mismatched eyes. One her soft hazel, the other his piercing, midnight blue. Blue as the water of the deep lake. She sighed. For several minutes, she remained lost in thought while staring at herself in the lake.

Gradually, she began to realize that a misty object was materializing over her reflection's left shoulder. The apparition was blurry at first, as if seen underwater, but it steadily became clearer. First, a pale face became visible, then a mop of dark hair, followed by a serious, handsome face.

Artemis.

Holly saw Artemis put his hand on her reflection's shoulder. She instantly felt a weight, small, but substantial, on her own shoulder. She drew in her breath sharply. Reaching up to hold the hand she was sure she would find, she was surprised when she grasped nothing but air. The Artemis behind her reflection smiled sadly. It looked back over its shoulder, then turned to face Holly again.

A wan smile crossed his face. Not his usual vampiric grin, but a real smile. A smile filled with tenderness and love, remorse and regret. A smile that let himself shine through. A smile she was sure he had never used when he was alive. He let go of her shoulder, and Holly felt the comforting weight on her back disappear.

"Don't leave me, Artemis. Don't leave me..." she whispered.

Artemis paused, then gave her a sad wave and turned away, melting away into the murky depths of the water.

"I love you, Arty. I love..." Holly trailed off as a sob wracked her body.

She wished she could trade spots with her reflection. Then she could turn just as he had and fade away.

She reached out a single, trembling hand towards her image in the water. As she touched the skin of ice covering the lake, it broke, sending ripples across the entire surface. Her face in the water blurred. She thought it was from the ripples, but she realized she was crying.

"I'm coming, Artemis. I'm coming."

The water of the lake caused Holly's hair to billow out around her face like a cloud, but it could not obscure her lips moving.

"My... Artemis."

**A/N- Well, I wasn't going to continue this story, but the three great reviews I got from chapter 1 gave me the inspiration to add one more chapter. But honestly people, you can do better than three reviews, can't you? I'd just like to ask you to please leave a review. If you had the time to read down to here, you have the time to leave a review, right? Well, hopefully you agree! This is definitely the end, though, so there won't be any more chapters. At least, not for this story, is what I mean.**


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